A Second, A Minute
by purplekitten7856
Summary: " "Uh…Levi." Someone said, sounding more like they were asking. But in the muddled haze of half-asleep, I didn't give the voice much thought. " Armin comes to Levi in the middle of the night. ( Lemin, levi x armin, fluff, nightmare )


A minute, A second (formerly just for a moment.)

"Uh…Levi." Someone said, sounding more like they were asking. But in the muddled haze of half-asleep, I didn't give the voice much thought.

"Levi?" I rolled over, so that I was facing the voice. I didn't want to wake up, but it was giving me no choice.

"Please. Please, wake up." It, they, said. The voice was feminine enough, so I could've guessed it was Petra. But it wasn't, I knew that for sure. Petra was dead and even if she was alive, she wouldn't have come into my room at no-thank-you o'clock in the morning.

I groaned at the hurried breathing coming from the person. Whoever it was not going to leave. were they? I opened my eyes groggily and directed my sight to the person. The blond backed away a step and sniffled. I sat up.

"I…I'm sorry, Levi. I shouldn't have come, but…" Armin muttered. I shook my head, relaxing my face. It was hard not to make the only facial expression my body would allow me: a glare. But I prevailed and tilted my head, my expression hopefully neutral. I took in the situation. Armin was standing maybe three feet from the bed I was sitting in, formerly laying in. He kept switching which leg he stood on, almost hopping, which showed he was nervous. The way he'd positioned himself told me he probably was thinking that I'd be mad that he woke me up. If the tear tracks running down his face were to say anything, he had had a dream and probably hadn't been a good one.

"Armin. Are you okay?" I asked. He seemed taken back by the question, almost surprised that I had asked him. He hesitated for a few seconds, maybe a minute. Even before he shook his head, I knew the answer. I stood up from where I sat and walked towards him.

"Nightmare?" I asked when I enveloped him in an embrace.

Having the terrible job description that we did, being part of the survey corps, nightmares were to be expected. That didn't make them any less easy to deal with, especially when you were reliving your friends' bloody deaths in your dreams. Especially if you had been there when the Shiganshina district fell. Armin's nightmares, of which he suffered from frequently, were worse than most.

But being the painfully shy and awkward creature he was, he'd never told me about the them. I'd found out by waking him up from the personal hell he had been suffering through. Then I had made him promise me that if he needed someone to cry to, that he'd come to me. The stoic, emotionless soldier comforting the shy genius. Yes. It was a perfect fit from the beginning.

"It was horrible." He whimpered into my shoulder.

"Yeah. It always is, isn't it?" I muttered, thinking about my own experiences. I felt my shirt becoming wet. I sighed and would have shook my head, if Armin wasn't glued to me. This would be the worst decision I'd ever make, I knew. But I decided to ask anyway.

"Do you want to stay the night?" I asked.

"What?" Armin pulled back and I groaned. Why'd he think I wasn't being serous.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" I asked.

"No… I mean. Yes? I mean, t-that's my answer t-to your question, the spending the night thing." I smirked at that.

"Ok, since you sound so sure. And you're ok now?" I asked, just as I always asked. The blond huffed a breath, obviously trying to calm down.

"Yeah." He said in his small timid voice.

"Like hell you are."

"I…Levi. Are you ok?" I rolled my eyes.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"I… I don't know. You just…You always seem different. From when we're alone to when we're not. Like…You're nicer. More caring." I raised my eyebrow.

"It was just a thought." Armin continued.

"No. I know that I probably do act different. But don't get used to it. It only happens with people I love." I replied, trying to gauge Armin's reaction. I cursed myself internally. It was late, my heart was working faster than my brain. I shouldn't have said that, even if it was an indirect to what I actually meant.

"You don't mean that." Armin blurted.

"Mean what? That I love you?" Armin covered his mouth with his hands to keep whatever he was going to blurt to himself. He shook his head.

"No. You don't mean that." He said, a little more forcefully. I clenched my fists a little. The genius who couldn't take a compliment. An idiot that couldn't understand a confession of feelings. Those were perfect descriptions of Armin Arlert.

"Do I normally say things that I don't mean?" I asked. Armin contemplated this. He shook his head.

"And do I deviate from what I normally do?" I asked. Armin simply stared at me for a few dozen seconds, more than a minute. He didn't say anything. I knew I hadn't convinced him. But I also knew that I wouldn't be able to, at least not tonight. I walked back towards the bed, closing my eyes, feeling my body calling me to sleep.

"You were serous?" I heard Armin ask from behind me.

"About what?" I hummed.

"Uh… Staying the night." He mumbled, very quietly.

"Only if you want to." I said.

"I want to." He said, a little too quickly. I nodded, though he couldn't see me.

He didn't want to face his demons alone. Just like me.


End file.
